What were they thinking? Why do business leaders sometimes make horrible decisions that severely damage themselves and their organizations? It is tempting to assume that a poor choice of action must be due to a leader’s incompetence, inexperience, bad character, or low intelligence – but such easily attributed factors generally aren’t the true cause when leaders and organizations blunder. In such situations, many turn to finance and accounting professionals for improved future decision-making

Description
What were they thinking? Why do business leaders sometimes make horrible decisions that severely damage themselves and their organizations? It is tempting to assume that a poor choice of action must be due to a leader’s incompetence, inexperience, bad character, or low intelligence – but such easily attributed factors generally aren’t the true cause when leaders and organizations blunder. In such situations, many turn to finance and accounting professionals for evaluation, answers, remedies, and solutions for improved future decision-making.

Specific topics include:

Elements of cognitive psychology, group dynamics, and organizational culture and structure that can sabotage decision-making by well-intentioned and capable leaders.

Techniques and behaviors to engage an organization’s “collective intellect” and draw upon its diversity of expertise, perspectives, and talents to more consistently determine the best course of action.

Nature and influence of major decision quality obstacles, indecision, internal conflict, and time pressures.

Real-life business cases of faulty decisions resulting in large-scale failures with devastating effects

Objectives

How to evaluate critical elements of a leader’s decision-quality capability

How to recognize factors that can sabotage decision-making by well-intentioned and capable leaders

How leaders can hone their skills as true problem finders and develop an organization’s talent for preempting threats before they can become disasters

How organizations can use vigilant decision-making in high-risk scenarios to still perform reliably